By Forum Staff
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Ashram Lochan was arraigned Thursday on an indictment charging him with murder in connection with a 2021 Far Rockaway shooting, apparently sparked by a dispute over a shared driveway, that killed 10-year-old Justin Wallace and seriously injured his cousin, 29-year-old Kyle Forrester. Lochan allegedly acted in concert with Jovan Young, who also has been charged in the slaying.
Lochan, 29, of Far Rockaway, was arraigned on a six-count indictment charging him with murder in the second degree, attempted murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree, two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and tampering with physical evidence.
Photo Courtesy of Google
The Beach 45th Street home in which Justin Wallace was shot and killed.
Young, 31, also of Far Rockaway, was charged in 2021 with murder in the second degree, attempted murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. His case is still pending.
According to a timeline of events and the charges:
On June 5, 2021, Lochan had a dispute with Forrester, who lived next door on Beach 45th Street, over their shared driveway.
Later that day, at approximately 9:33 p.m., Young, acting at Lochan’s direction, fired a pistol multiple times into Forrester’s residence and in his direction as he entered his front door.
At the time, there were multiple children inside of the house including Wallace.
Forrester was hit several times. He was taken to a local hospital in critical condition.
Wallace was struck in the torso. The bullet perforated his heart and left lung, killing him. He would have turned 11 three days later.
“The plague of gun violence, one senseless shooting after another, claims one life after another in our communities. In this case, the life claimed was that of a young boy, days away from just his eleventh birthday,” Katz said. “We will seek justice on his behalf and continue fighting as hard as we can against the scourge of gun violence.”
If convicted, Lochan faces up to life in prison.
